Holt McCallany Quotes

Every actor just wants good writing.

If I'm not clear with the character, I can't do anything with it. But once I get that character, the possibilities are endless. When you have such a defined character, I feel like I can actually read the phone book and make it funny.

My preference is for good writing. It doesn't matter if it's for film or TV. Whatever. It starts with the writing. Even though I've had problems with writers, it doesn't matter how great of an actor you are. If the writing is bad, you're going to struggle.

You can't improv off of bad writing. Then you have to actually create your objective, which is really hard to do in an element without the skeleton to go off of.

For me, it's always about what's on the page. I have tremendous respect for writing. When you recognize good writing, and you're lucky enough to get it, like with 'Lost,' that's what I follow.

If you have a great script and great dialogue, you don't need to improvise.

As far as the creative side, the more I do this, the more I know that it's all about the writing. We don't always celebrate that enough, but without the writing, you can't do much. You got on a film sometimes, and it's sort of half-written, and they expect and think that the actor's job is to bring the extra part and the good part. It's not.

'End of Watch' was 98-percent written, and I work really hard to make it look like it's the first time I'm saying it.

With fiction, I've grown to really love the challenge of lying, the challenge of telling a good tale that isn't truthful, and working with performers is endlessly fascinating. You know, learning what a good performance is, how to get a good performance, how much or how little you need to create emotion or to create character.

All you ever really want is a great character and great writing. As an actor, that's the juiciest sandwich you could ever ask for.

Sometimes the writing can be so good that the actor doesn't really have to do anything.

I grew up doing theatre and spent a long time as a playwright. I still think very visually when I write.

I like the detail work of telling a story in small pieces, as is done in movie-making, and also the long leap of faith needed to see a theatre performance through each night. Both require focus and self-discipline.

It's fun to improvise, but I still think it's better to have a great script, you know, like a Charlie Kaufman script.

When you see something that is well-written, the actors can get behind it.

I think all great actors - and I don't classify myself as one of them, incidentally - but I think all great actors listen well and I've learned that from a lot of the very good actors with whom I've worked - to really listen to what people say.

Work in the theater sharpened my verse and my cinema.

It's bad writing, however naturalistic it's written, that's where you have to do your best acting.

I think if you're writing a play, it should be its own end game; you'll never get to do a good one unless you know it's not a blueprint for a film; you're not going to get the action right and the story right.

You know, I remember watching Morgan Freeman when he did the two Alex Cross movies, and he's so confident that he's going to knock the scene dead. And I'm really confident that I can tell a good story now, so I just don't worry about things.

Good acting is all in the writing. If it isn't on the page, then it really won't make any difference. You cannot act on force of personality alone.

Any great character is the combination of a brilliant actor and the right writing.

Lizzy Weiss is such a great writer, and she really writes for the performances.

Good scripts are hard to find.

Good scripts and interesting stories are hard enough to find.